


Wish I Could Stay

by K242



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 12:18:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20153470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K242/pseuds/K242
Summary: Spoilers for the Black Eagles - Crimson Flower route.With the end of an era, so too has Byleth's time come. As it should.But knowing that doesn't make it any easier.





	Wish I Could Stay

The towering Immaculate One stands on its rear legs for a moment, as if suspended in time, before finally crashing backwards at an awkward angle, sickly green blood leaking from where Byleth and Edelgard had struck the beast down with their relic weapons. For a second, the two stare at the unmoving corpse expectantly, wondering if it’s finally over—despite all of the hardships they had faced, it suddenly feels like the end of the war had come so simply and easily in the span of a few seconds.

But the Immaculate One—no, Seiros—stays where she lays on the ground, well and truly dead. At first Edelgard dares not speak, lest she jinx them, but finally she can’t contain the overwhelming relief that floods her mind and heart. “Professor. . .we did it! We really—”

Edelgard’s triumphant happiness is short lived, near instantaneously replaced by icy, gripping fear. In disblelief, she can only watch as Byleth clutches at her heart, face contorted in agony, before joining the slain saint on the ground before Edelgard can catch her.

Inside, Byleth can feel something break. As Seiros finally fades from the world, so to can Byleth feel the power of the Crest of Flames implanted within her slowly crumble into nothingness, releasing the hold it had cast upon her heart. But even as it is finally freed from its lifelong shackles, Byleth’s heart fails her, having come to depend too much upon the crest to sustain her. It spasms fitfully, like it’s trying to beat as much as possible in its short time before fading away. Byleth figures the sensation should be painful, but there’s a sort of exhilaration to it, of finally understanding what it’s like to have a heartbeat, to have a heart.

Edelgard is swiftly on her knees and by the fallen woman’s side, gently rolling Byleth over and reverently cradling her in her arms. Trepidation fills Edelgard’s heart. She had already given up so much: peace; the countless lives of friends, enemies, and innocents; even her humanity. But to lose Byleth now, after they had finally freed the world from the stagnant clutches of the church, is too much for her to bear. An unfamiliar wetness irritates Edelgard’s eyes, and she only belatedly realizes that she’s crying, so foreign is the sensation to her. When was the last time she had cried?

She doesn’t dare move to wipe the tears from her eyes, not with Byleth dying in her grasp, but Edelgard doesn’t need to. A hand slowly strains to reach up and brushes the tears away, restoring clarity to Edelgard’s blurred world.

Byleth smiles weakly up at her. “Don’t cry. . .” she tries to tell Edelgard, but her voice comes out as barely more than a hoarse whisper.

“H-How can I not? You can’t leave now, not after coming so far! What about the future you wanted to see? Please, don’t leave. . .don’t leave me,” Edelgard pleads.

“No, El,” Byleth says. “It’s better this way. I. . .I share the bloodline of the goddess. And in the new world we sought to forge, there is no place for me.”

“But there is! By my side!” Edelgard’s sobbing is beyond control, just as Byleth also slips from her fingers.

Sorrow flits across Byleth’s face, but she doesn’t want to make Edelgard any sadder. So, she just smiles gently at the young emperor. Byleth weakly takes Edelgard’s hand in her own and presses the precious heirloom Jeralt had left her into Edelgard's hand.

“I wanted to walk this path with you, too.”

The newly born heartbeat in Byleth’s chest goes silent.

**Author's Note:**

> Finished up the Crimson Flower route, and as a sucker for tragedy I immediately thought of an alternative ending to the path.
> 
> Overall, Three Houses was an enjoyable game, though it really feels like each individual route isn't quite a complete game/story on its own. Though some people didn't like the Revelations route in Fates, I feel like a similar definitive route would really serve the story and characters well. Each route loses a lot of characterization for the houses you didn't choose, and the stories all miss key details that would really flesh out the world and motivations of the factions.


End file.
